These laws are meant to improve business efficiency in the country and their implementation should not suffer any delays. With that in mind, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has assured the public the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 would be implemented as scheduled.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the laws are progressing as planned, dismissing calls by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) for the DTI to fast-track the issuance of the IRR as the alleged delay is already causing disappointment among businessmen.

Lopez said his office has already conducted briefing sessions with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Food and Drug Administration regarding the draft IRR. “We are now in the stage of analyzing and questioning the working draft and testing its impact using a public consultation process. We are bringing the proposed IRR to where it matters most, the Filipino citizen,” he said, noting that three teams were deployed by his office to regions on Friday to conduct public consultations.

The DTI is the lead agency in crafting the IRR of the EODB law and has until 22 October to release the draft rules. “Let me assure the public that there is no delay, as we trust the wisdom of Congress in setting a 90-working day deadline, which shall be on 22 October,” Lopez told reporters.

The Trade chief said that he already instructed the DTI’s Competitiveness Bureau to give the PACC the working draft for the EODB law’s IRR.

He noted that the crafting of IRR has to undergo processes that include coordinating and consultations with the Civil Service Commission, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Bureau of Fire Protection on specific provisions of the law that involve these agencies.

Initial consultations were done with DILG, NEDA, Department of Finance, Philippine Statistics Authority, Cooperative Development Authority, Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of the Ombudsman, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, Lopez said.

There were also consultative meetings with the Office of the President, government-owned and -controlled corporations, Departments of Tourism, Foreign Affairs, Labor, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, Environment, Defense and Justice, he said.

“As the chair of the EODB or the ARTA (Anti-Red Tape Act) Council, let me clarify that the law will be implemented by the Anti-Red Tape Authority to be headed by a director general and three deputy director generals. Thus, we eagerly await the appointment of the director general of ARTA, who will also be the signatory of the IRR,” Lopez said.